Trail cleanup: an ongoing conversation with the weather

During the last week of February, Mendocino National Forest staff from recreation, fire, fuels and engineering mobilized to clear OHV trails, making progress on around 80% of trails and numerous roads that provide access to the trail system.

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“This is a positive step. It’s been a monumental effort from all people on the forest and other forests, but we are serious about maintaining our trail system after the Ranch Fire and these large storms,” said Deputy District Ranger Terry Nickerson.

What goes in to clearing a trail? In this case, fire personnel from Engine 344 assisted the recreation program by dropping dangerous hazard trees, which were then cut into smaller chunks to enable easier removal from the trail. This labor-intensive, specialized job is critical to keeping trails accessible in the long-term.

Meanwhile similar work took place in the Deer Valley Campground, where equipment operators joined OHV and fire crews to remove downed logs that damaged picnic tables and other infrastructure. This damage response provided an opportunity for training, where fire personnel from Engine 342 showed OHV crews how to run the woodchipper – a machine that chops branches and logs into smaller pieces.

But mother nature has put a pause on the progress. This week’s low snow levels and incoming storms may cause more trees to fall across roads and trails. While staff hope that not too much of their work last week has been undone, forest trail and road maintenance is a continuous process of responding to the influence of weather.

“It’s like Groundhog Day,” said District Ranger Frank Aebly. “We clear trails and then a storm hits, and we have to clear them again. Some of our fire folks and awesome volunteer groups like PWORA clear the same trails over and over.”

Please check Forest Alerts for latest info on closures.